Chapter 119 Just Right

Sensoji Temple is very popular.

The winter air was thick with the scent of freshly lit sandalwood. White smoke curled up from the incense burner, catching the sunlight and floating in the air like a hazy mist. The sky was clear, and while the sun was bright, it wasn't warm. The wind blew through the crowd, brushing against my neck and making me hunch my shoulders.

There were quite a few tourists, and the line for fortune-telling stretched around the main hall. The line moved slowly forward, with staff at the end holding wooden signs to guide them.

Guan Yue finally followed the group to the shrine. Her face flushed from the cold, and she clutched the coin tightly in her hands, rubbing it several times before finally letting it go and gently dropping it into the cash box.

After inserting the coin, she suddenly looked back hesitantly at He Jiu who was standing outside the crowd.

He was standing by the long wooden cabinet where fortunes were drawn, his scarf loosely hung around his neck, his hands tucked into his coat pockets, his expression lazy, as if unconcerned with all the bustle. He was aimlessly surveying the crowds in front of the temple, like a model casually waiting for a photoshoot, when he happened to catch her gaze.

He blinked and took two steps towards me.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a low voice.

"How do you bow?" she asked, a little embarrassed, unsure of her own approach. Behind her, the procession continued to advance, and the urging glances from those behind her were already on her. She panicked, realizing she was speaking Chinese.

Realizing that Hejiu couldn't understand, she quickly lowered her head to look up the translator on her phone.

But it was obvious that her panic was written all over her face and no translation was needed at all.

“Insert a coin, ring the bell, clap your hands twice, and then bow.”

He spoke in English very slowly and demonstrated some movements.

"Oh oh!" She nodded and did as she was told, her tone filled with relief.

Seeing her begin to pray in an orderly manner, He Jiu stepped back two steps, making room for her. He stood in the shadow behind the incense, but did not move far away.

He felt a little funny.

This role as a local guide had come unexpectedly. He'd just bumped into Guan Yue at an izakaya near the train station last night after seeing the performance of "GIFT." She happened to be on the phone with Hele. Before he could even step away, she grabbed him.

She grabbed his sleeve and chattered into the phone. When the earphones were placed in his ears, Le's familiar and gentle voice came out:

"Guan Yue said you want to take her out to play? I'll leave it to you. She doesn't speak Japanese very well, and her English isn't very good either. Her fiancé is very worried about her."

When she said the word "fiancé", her tone was very natural, but she seemed to emphasize it deliberately.

He Jiu was stunned for half a second.

He didn't know what to say - it seemed like nothing he said was appropriate.

In the end, he just rolled his eyes at the air. But he didn't refuse the mission, and finally just did it - just like he always did.

"Wow! Daji!!"

Guan Yue's exclamation brought him back from his memories. Her excited and happy look made him unconsciously feel fortunate. If this was a serious threat, how difficult would his mission as a kidnapped escort be?

"I'm so sorry, actually you don't have to accompany me to visit the tourist attractions." In the matcha shop next to Sensō-ji Temple, Guan Yue poked at the ice cream in front of her and apologized to He Jiu with some apology.

In the matcha shop, the two of them sat by the window. The winter sun fell perfectly on the tabletop. Outside the window, a constant stream of pedestrians passed by, but the bustling atmosphere in front of the temple gate had already created a layer of warm tranquility.

"I don't have anything else to do today anyway." He replied casually, lowered his eyes and took a sip of water. After a pause, he asked, "But why don't you go to the hot springs with them?"

"How inappropriate... They're having a team celebration, and I'm an outsider who doesn't speak the language," she said lightly. "Lele doesn't like celebrations, but she can't escape this time. If I go, she'll have to take care of me, which will be even more stressful."

After saying that, she pushed her phone in front of He Jiu. The translation app was still automatically popping up the Chinese and Japanese translations one sentence at a time. He Jiu lowered his head to read a few lines, said nothing, and just turned to look out the window.

Guan Yue thought he would not respond.

Ten seconds later, he suddenly spoke in a low voice: "Le should no longer dislike that kind of occasion. At least, being with them... is different."

He spoke softly but with certainty.

He'd seen her video conference with the creative team. Several times, when he arrived early for rehearsals, he'd run into Le, who was trying to squeeze in a meeting with the team. She'd always sit on the floor, legs folded in her arms, clutching a notebook, lost in thought, completely oblivious to the camera's reflection of her slanted posture.

Sometimes she would suddenly look up, snap her fingers as if she had figured something out, and then change the topic, leading the rhythm of the entire discussion.

"Yeah, that's great..." Guan Yue nodded, her face filled with satisfaction. She lowered her head and scooped a spoonful of matcha ice cream into her mouth. The overly strong bitter tea flavor made her frown. "This isn't as good as what we had at that cafe in Beijing in 2019."

"Who told you to pick the strongest one..." He Jiu couldn't help but complain, "But it's a good thing you remembered it. 19 years ago, it felt like a long time ago."

Yes, so long ago, before that, there hadn't even been a figure like Yuzuru Hanyu in their lives. Le had hidden him so well...

He Jiu didn't continue, and Guan Yue didn't respond either. She simply lowered her head to eat her ice cream, observing his expression. During Emperor Entertainment's tour that year, Le took her to see He Jiu's performances, and later, he was his tour guide around Beijing. Seeing their chemistry back then, she had been convinced she'd supported the wrong couple. Now, seeing He Jiu's deep expression, she suddenly realized that perhaps she wasn't mistaken, and the story had simply taken a different path.

"I really want to know what their celebration will be like."

She said this casually, tapping the spoon twice on the edge of the empty bowl, as if to express a casual emotion, or to change the subject.

"Then why don't you just go there directly?"

They chatted casually across the table, their phone still lit up between them, the translation app silently running sentence by sentence, like a non-intrusive bystander, recording this somewhat impromptu but not awkward conversation.

The phone was busy translating, and he apparently forgot to send any message to Le who was far away in Izu.

Suginohara Raku leaned against the railing of the second-floor corridor of the hot spring inn, his phone pressed to his ear, his other hand tucked into the sleeve of his haori, his fingertips already a little numb from the cold. A wooden corridor led to a courtyard on the mountainside. The light was soft, and the breeze carried a hint of the dampness of the mountain forest.

She had just called Guan Yue, but the other party didn't answer.

Thinking that she might be on the train or have forgotten to charge her phone, she hesitated for a moment and dialed a different number.

This time it’s He Jiu.

I picked up the phone after it rang twice. The background on the other end was very noisy, with some lively background sounds.

"Hello?"

"...Is she on your side?" Le's tone was very light and quick.

"Yeah." Hejiu's voice blended into the hustle and bustle. "I was shopping with her at the electronics mall. She said she wanted to buy a game for her boyfriend. Her phone's out of battery, so don't worry."

Le breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good. Thank you for your hard work this time."

"Don't thank me so quickly—if you're really grateful, don't let me become your tour guide for no apparent reason next time." He had just finished speaking when he replied, as if to someone in the distance, "Remember to pay the tour guide fee later. Oh, and you can also let her boyfriend pay it."

Le heard the smile in his tone, smiled too, said "OK" softly, and hung up the phone.

She stood there watching the phone screen go black. When the wind blew, her hair brushed against her neck, making it itchy. She reached out and tucked the strands behind her ear, then put away her phone and walked back along the hotel corridor.

The wooden door of the hot spring hotel was closed, and inside was steaming on the tatami. As soon as the door was opened, the aroma of a stew pot hit me.

Everyone was sitting around a low table, hot dishes were being served, the small hot pot was bubbling, the bottle of sake was slowly warming up in the hot spring kettle, and the air was filled with the smell of yuzu peel and miso.

"Hey! Where's Le? You were nowhere to be seen just now?" Teacher Mikiko spotted her and teased with a smile, "Did you sneak off to take a bath? If you do, you'll have to drink a glass of water as a penalty~"

Her colleagues immediately started to cheer: "Yes, yes, yes! Teacher, fall down!"

Mikiko responded exaggeratedly, "Got it", picked up the bottle of red wine on the table and poured her half a glass, shaking the wine playfully as she handed it to her.

Le just stretched out his hand to take it, but someone next to him reached out and blocked the cup first.

Yuzuru Hanyu, who was sitting nearby, excitedly chatting about music with Takebe-sensei, suddenly reached out and gently pressed his fingertips against the rim of his wine glass. His excitement about another topic hadn't yet shifted, and his voice, filled with laughter, sounded unthreatening, just soft and coquettish. "Mikiko-sensei, please stop messing around. She can't handle red wine."

As he spoke, he actually took the wine glass and placed it in front of him, as if he was afraid that she would accidentally take it again.

Everyone at the table was silent for a moment, and then burst into laughter.

"Hey hey hey hey hey—Yuzuru-san, you've got the wrong person!"

"Le is famous for his alcohol tolerance. Aren't you too quick to stop him?"

"Why did you take the wine? You're the one who can't drink it, right? Hahaha——"

Yuzuru Hanyu joined in the laughter, waving his hands. "I can't drink it, but red wine really isn't suitable for fun! I'm not kidding, she..." He paused, as if choosing his words, "Every time she drinks, she falls asleep...quickly."

Now there was not only laughter, but the atmosphere on the entire tatami became a little warmer.

"Haha, isn't it inappropriate for you to expose our Director Suginohara's weaknesses like this?"

Everyone was chatting and teasing Yuzuru Hanyu again. The PD, who was typically strict at work, was always like a playful child off the cuff, joking around with everyone. Le was always like that, not contributing any key points, but laughing along. When the topic drifted off, he poured himself a glass of sake, allowing everyone to move on smoothly to the next topic.

Yuzuru Hanyu was tired of chatting with everyone, so he just leaned back in her chair naturally, with his hands on the back, as if he had quietly "encircled" her from the booing.

Le took advantage of his leaning posture and whispered, "I went to call He Jiu to see how Yueyue was doing."

"I know." He nodded slightly.

The dinner slowly ended amidst bursts of laughter and the aftertaste of sake.

The dishes were empty, the hot pot went out, some people leaned on the tatami and yawned, and some people got up and walked out holding their bath towels.

"Let's go to the open air first—"

"Hey, who took my yukata belt?"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry up, get to the hot springs before they close!"

Amidst the laughter, everyone went to take a bath in the hot springs in groups of three or four.

Finally, only Yuzuru Hanyu and Raku Suginohara remained seated, gently placing their newly emptied tea bowls back on their trays. They thanked the wait staff and then walked out of the restaurant one after the other.

The night breeze from the hotel blew through the corridor, leaving a small gap in the paper door. From the hot spring pool outside, the sound of water and occasional laughter came. The warm yellow light lengthened the shadows at their feet.

When I returned to the room, the lights were dimmed. Mist curled from the private bath, and warm light shone on the water, like a pool of quietly breathing light.

Suginohara Raku removed her hairband and sat by the pool, tiptoeing. The sound of the water was as quiet as if it were wrapped in cotton in the night. Hanyu Yuzuru joined her in the water, leaning against the edge and looking up at the sky.

"There are so many stars here." Le sighed softly, "It's really easier to see them in the countryside."

Yuzuru Hanyu said "hmm" but didn't look at her. He just tilted his head back and stared at the night sky in a trance.

"The gift is really...over."

"Yeah, that's right. You're great, Hanyu."

"You too, Director Suginohara." He suddenly sat up straight and looked at her seriously. "By the way, I don't mind you calling me PD Hanyu."

"Oh~ Excuse me~" She drawled out her words with a smile, "That's great, PD Hanyu!"

Yuzuru Hanyu nodded with satisfaction and slowly sank back into the water. After a while, two strings of bubbles suddenly appeared on the surface of the water, followed by two gurgling sounds.

“…I’m hungry.”

Le thought he had misheard and turned around in surprise to look at Yuzuru Hanyu, whose head was only half exposed in the water.

"PD Hanyu, we just finished dinner!"

"But I've been chatting so much that I haven't had time to eat..." He said pitifully, "Shall we go get some grilled rice balls?"

"I won't eat. Go by yourself."

"Together~~"

"I'll get fat!" she retorted seriously.

"It's okay - just do some exercise after eating." He leaned close to her ear, his tone a little smug and playful. Before she could get angry, he had already slipped out of the pool and quickly put on his bathrobe.

"Let's go, I'm really hungry!"

Elevenplay's choreographer, returning to her room after a hot spring bath, was greeted by the familiar aroma of instant noodles and grilled rice balls as she passed the common area. Two yukata-clad figures sat side by side in a corner, their backs to the hallway, whispering to each other as they ate, laughter spilling out from time to time.

She rubbed her eyes, suspecting that she was dizzy from drinking alcohol and soaking in soup. She took another look and saw...

I chose to pretend I didn't see it, turned around and went back to my room to sleep.